BIG BROTHER

Scientists, writers, and stargazers have always been fascinated by our giant neighbor, Jupiter. It is the subject of science fiction stories and countless movies, such as 2001, Europa Project, and others. It has fascinated astronomers for centuries, especially because of its unusual giant red spot, which has swirling winds of 618 km/hr.

NASA recently sent the Juno Probe to our big brother, which completed its five year, 1.4 billion mile journey, and will fly within 2,900 miles of Jupiter’s swirling, violent atmosphere of gases. It will study the composition of the gas giant, its gravity, and its magnetic field. The radioactive storm of high energy particles traveling around the field near the speed of light are believed to be the most violent in the whole solar system.The brain of the probe’s computer is housed within a vault made of solid Titanium.

The only other probe that orbited the planet was the Galileo. Jupiter is so large that 1000 Earths could fit inside it. It should be interesting to see what the probe discovers once it enters the atmosphere, and whether it even is able to withstand the enormous pressure of it.